Ukraine has suspended the export of oil and petroleum products from key Russian ports Primorsk and Ust-Luga, located on the Baltic Sea, after a series of drone attacks that caused significant damage to infrastructure. This decision has a substantial impact on the global oil market, as it coincides with an ongoing oil shortage caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the prolonged armed conflict between the US and Israel against Iran. In particular, a large fire broke out at the Primorsk port as a result of the drone attacks.
This is reported by Business • Media
Significance of Primorsk and Ust-Luga Ports for Russian Exports
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the “Transneft – Primorsk Port” oil terminal in Primorsk was affected, including the tank farm and oil loading infrastructure.
“According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the oil terminal ‘Transneft – Primorsk Port’ has been hit – both the tank farm and the oil loading infrastructure. It is currently unknown if there were any damages in Ust-Luga.”
The Primorsk port has an export capacity of over 1 million barrels of oil per day, making it a major supply point for Russian Urals crude oil and diesel fuel. Ust-Luga facilitates the export of approximately 700,000 barrels of oil per day. Over the past year, nearly 33 million tons of petroleum products were shipped through this port. At the time of publication, there were no reports of damage in Ust-Luga.
Strikes on Strategic Russian Facilities: Oil Refineries and Aircraft Factories
In addition to attacks on the ports, the General Staff of Ukraine confirmed damage to the “Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim” oil refinery in the city of Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan. A fire broke out at the facility following the strike. The refinery has a capacity for primary oil processing of 6-8 million tons per year and is crucial for supplying fuel to the Russian armed forces. It is located 1,400 km from the Ukrainian border.
Last week, the Ukrainian Defense Forces also struck two Russian aircraft factories. On March 17, the 123rd Aircraft Repair Plant in the city of Stara Russa (Novgorod Oblast) was damaged, including the hangar for servicing Il-76 and L-410 aircraft. The day before, on March 16, Defense Forces units targeted the infrastructure of the “Aviastar” aircraft manufacturing plant in Ulyanovsk, damaging the climate shelter and aircraft parking areas. Some of the aircraft on the premises sustained varying degrees of damage.
In the previous year, three other Russian aircraft factories also suffered attacks: the Voronin Aircraft Factory in Lukhovitsy (Moscow Oblast), the Smolensk Aircraft Factory in Smolensk, and the G. M. Beriev TANTK Aircraft Repair Plant in Taganrog (Rostov Oblast). Among the affected facilities were the experimental A-60 aircraft and the Tu-95 aircraft repair shop, which caught fire after the second strike.